There's nothing unusual about a brand running a loyalty scheme, but Starbucks have done something a little different by running theirs across multiple international markets. The firm's new Starbucks Card provides customers with a fast and simple way to pay for coffee in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Thailand.
While the worldwide ubiquity of American restaurant brands comes in for a lot of criticism - creating identikit streets from Seattle to Sydney - it's an inescapable fact that people like to frequent a name they know and trust. Sure, there may be better local coffee, but if you're unfamiliar to a country and on-the-go, there isn't always time to go local. Starbuck's initiative works because it recognises its internationalism and makes something good of it, instead of apologising for it. Clever.
The idea opens the floodgates for hundreds of other international brands emulate this thinking and link up their marketing to communicate to customers at the international level for which they're known. In today's global economy, for many brands it really makes sense.
Thanks for pointing out what sounds like a fundamental flaw in Starbucks offer, Johann. The card vaunts its internationalism so for it not to cope with exchange rates on any level truly undermines its value. And here I was thinking they had a good idea!
Posted by: James Ollerenshaw | Friday, 09 February 2007 at 17:34
Pah! I bought a friend of mine in the states a £20 Starbucks voucher thinking he will have a nice $40 to spend there. You would think a prominent company like Starbucks would honour that... Nope. They don't tell you that you just buy CREDITS. So my £20 was worth only $20 to him!!!! Daylight robbery I say. I refuse to support Starbucks anyway but this was just the cake to me...
(Obviously the opposite is true if you buy a voucher in the US and use it here but I bet you they have a stop on the system doing that. I have a $10 US card on the way to check it out just as a test...)
Posted by: Johann | Thursday, 08 February 2007 at 20:39